John Salter out, Gerald Harris in vs. Rafael Lovato at Bellator 198

Rafael Lovato Jr. will still have his biggest MMA test to date against a crafty veteran on Saturday night. But it will be against a different foe than originally planned.

Lovato will face Gerald Harris at Bellator 198 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., in a 188-pound catchweight matchup. Harris steps in for John Salter, who withdrew from their planned middleweight bout due to undisclosed reasons.

Lovato (7-0), a former World Jiu-Jitsu Championships gold medalist, is 4-0 in Bellator with his most recent win a decision over Chris Honeycutt at Bellator 189. Lovato has four career submissions and two knockouts to his credit.

Harris (25-5), meanwhile, comes out of a retirement he announced following a knockout slam win over Matt McKeon in his hometown of Tulsa in October. Harris, a veteran of the UFC, WSOF, IFL, Dream, and LFA, has won four bouts in a row and eight of his past nine.